Makenai...
The gateway stood rusted and welcoming
Under his hands, trembling and clammy.
He shouldered open the giant barricade,
A playful howl erupting from Flammie.
He grinned with gladness few others knew of,
Looking back with unmasked anticipation
At her smiling face bruised with shadows
And the sprite laughing, urging him to hasten.
Somehow he was filled with intrinsic gratification,
Flooded with this joy.
Whoever knew the wielder of the Mana Sword
Would be such a worthless boy?
As they bolted over the lush grass,
The sky began to soften.
The tapestry of this miraculous journey
Was almost done and woven.
Sunlight filtered through the clouds
Upon a graceful and towering tree.
Fairies danced among its brances;
It was a scene a pure serenity.
Gradually their breathing calmed
As they stood upon the windy cliff side.
They listened to the silence echo
Throughout the land untouched by lies.
Each of them mutely reflected
About their unchangeable fates --
The Mana Fortress already hung in the bloodstained sky...
Had he been too late?
She reflected of "the one born in the darkness
"And raised in the light."
Surely he was too weakened
To escape Thanatos' eternal blight.
The sprite's vigor was eventually stifled,
Starved from the power of Mana.
His wistful smirk was etched with dejection,
His own nostalgia giving him nausea.
Absently the sprite trailed behind,
His eyes reflecting the silhouettes of bamboos.
"Douka... Makenai..."
"Please... Don't lose..."